Sweet Maria's Weblog

It might seem silly, but I am really excited about this kettle, the PINO Digital Kettle Pro. I need a lot of hot water for cupping and brewing so having a kettle that works as well as this does makes a big difference in my day-to-day life. I have the bad habit of forgetting that I am heating water. On the stove, I will evaporate a full pan of water before I remember I had it on the burner ... which led me to use the Bodum Ibis kettle. It's a fine kettle, but I also forget about it, and then my water is cool and I need to heat it again.
So here is the pretty sleek the Pino Digital Kettle Pro, an electric kettle that will heat water to a temperature that I preset, and hold it there until I am ready for it, or remember it, whichever comes first. It has a 50 oz (~1.5 Liter capacity), and the electric base is separate from the kettle top. It is 1000 watts, a bit lower than some other electric kettles, but will heat a full 1.5 liters from tap temperature to 205 in 9 minutes, and will heat 16 ounces of water in 2 minutes. It is pricey, but this paired with a Clever Coffee Dripper makes a great brewing set-up.

We're adding four new coffees today: Nicaragua Limoncillo Pacamara Dry-Process with fruits flavors and a profile not unlike Ethiopia DP or Yemen. Check out Tom's review!... Next is the Colombia Finca Buenavista -Carlos Imbachi Microlot- the return of an all-around favorite farm, this is a sweet coffee with guava and strawberry tones. Takes a wide range of roasts and is on the brighter side, being Huila-grown. We are adding the Costa Rica Tarrazu -Montes de Oro, a versatile coffee with graham cracker and lemon with chocolate at a darker roast. We've also blended up the new Espresso Workshop #7 - La Tessitura, ... another tongue-twisted name choice with fruits and a bright finish. Maybe the analogy to choral music is a bit much but once you try it, you'll be singing about the great cup along with us! Check out the full review for more.
Stay tuned for news about a new electric water kettle on the way.

Happy first day of October to you! We're adding three new coffees today: First is the clean and sweet Sulawesi Tana Toraja Ke'pe, with raisin and dark berry in the cup; a true Toraja offering. Next up is Ethiopia Gr.3 Dry Process Yirga Cheffe. Look for hints of blueberry, passion fruit, and a lemon citrus. It's an excellent Gedio region coffee, check out the full review! Last but not least is a new Nyeri: Kenya Nyeri Peaberry Kagumo-ini with refined sugar, lemon brightness, and a very nice finish. Let it cool for an extended flavor profile with caramel and vanilla.

This week we roasted the same coffee: Kenya Nyeri AA – Kagumo Coop to two different levels.The first batches were roasted to City+and the resultant cup is super sweet and wonderful, really the ideal roast level for this coffee.It was counterintuitive to roast the rest of the batches all the way to Full City as the cup changes considerably and more bittersweet notes dominate.As Tom mentions in the review the profile becomes a bit more aggressive at darker roast levels and this might suit some tastes very well.But for me, the lighter roast of this coffee is so much more flavorful and sweet.See what you think and try this experiment with your own roasting, so much can be learned from roasting the same coffee in different ways.City+ roast took 13 minutes, final thermoprobe temp. of 420, Full City took 14 minutes final thermoprobe temp. of 438. If you examine both coffees visually there doesn't seem to be much difference but the cup really reveals the subtle shifts in flavor that occur when you go from one roast level to the next. Try experimenting with blending the two roasts together before brewing for yet another flavor profile.

New arrivals today: First up is the eagerly awaited El Salvador Finca Kilimanjaro. We received a reduced amount and have limited sales to 1 or 2 pounds. Read the full review but expect a bright Central with almost African character; mint, winey fruit, and tea-like tastes. Next up is the Guatemala Antigua Puerta Verde Bourbon. Want to find out what's behind the "green door/puerta verde"? You'll find an Antigua with apple notes in the profile and a nice balance of aroma/flavors ranging from caramel to malt. Lastly we are adding Honduras Organic - Daniel Ordoñez III Microlot, a balanced Central and a crowd-pleaser with nuts flavors at light and dark roasts, cola sweetness at a darker roast.